Decisions of Destiny

General Summary

Introduction

The pale sun rose above the gleaming city of Ivannia signaling the start of a new day. This day had the feel of adventure! Morganna Anne Louise Estelle of Ivannia woke up early and fetched her mail. She had a note from her Uncle Francois inviting her and her retinue to breakfast. She also received a note from House Bonaparte requesting a strategy meeting before the council meeting later today. Morganna used her room's food producer to instantly generate a hot cup of her custom tea blend while she went through her mail and planned out her day.

Tidran yawned and stretched as the morning sun filtered into the room. He has spent the past couple of weeks helping House Bonaparte with preparations for a potential military excursion against the Yellow Serpents. He checked the overnight mail and found a message from Bonaparte requesting a strategy planning meeting later in the day. His sister, Cassandra slept in after attending a late night birthday party the night before.

Dariyana woke in her luxurious suite and spent a few minutes going over her weapons and donning her armor. Everything was exactly how she had left it the night before, but she was a warrior and always made sure her gear was ready. She had been hearing rumors of an impending Ivannian assault on the Yellow Serpents; after the events of the previous week she was more glad than ever to have left that organization.

Morganna's desk console chimed with a security request. A Delve named Sirkel was requesting access to Ivannia and claimed to know the princess. Morganna was very happy to hear from her spelunking friend again and she approved his request. Soon, Sirkel was shown in and given his own suite of rooms down the hall from Princess Morganna. The rest of the group heard the commotion and came out, they were all excited to see their friend again. Sirkel had meant to join the group earlier, but had been distracted by all the caves in the area. He had spent the past couple of months exploring caves but was ready to re-join his friends.

An Important Announcement

  The party joined Morganna for breakfast in the palatial dining room of House Estelle. Morganna's Uncle Francois stood and greeted them as they came in. The group sat (or floated) at the table and dug into a delicious Ivannian breakfast served from the food machines. Sirkel's eyes bulged when his friends showed him how the food machines worked, and even more so when he noticed they could produce any kind of cake on demand. He began busily trying every type imaginable, and tucking some into his pockets for later.

Morganna's Uncle raised a polite eyebrow at Sirkel's cake consumption but he soon told the group why he had asked to see them. He was planning on retiring this year from the Ivannian ruling council, and would like to recommend Morganna as his successor. He also offered to place her into an ambassadorship if she did not want the duties of the council.

Job Opening

His announcement surprised the group, and stunned Morganna. It took her a few minutes before she could formulate words: when she found her tongue she had a plethora of questions for her uncle. Many of her questions dealt with how much she would be restricted in one role vs the other, and what responsibilities she might have. After a lot of back and forth about the intricacies of Ivannian political appointments (which Tidran commented made his head hurt to try and follow), Morganna asked her Uncle if she could be both an ambassador and an council member.

  Francois Estelle considered her question carefully. "Well" he responded "no one has ever held both positions before. You would need the council to vote to approve such a measure. If you do bring such a matter to the council then please ensure you have the votes to pass the resolution before bringing such a motion". Morganna was somewhat disappointed in his answer. On the one hand, she was a member of a royal family and had just come back to her city and sworn fealty to it. On the other hand, she realized her friends might not want to stay forever in the city and she wished to join them on their adventures.

After several more questions, her uncle gently suggested that he was not retiring for a few weeks so she could take her time to consider her options. Morganna took her uncle's advice and was grateful for the time to mull over her decision. The conversation turned to lighter topics and the group discussed their plans for the rest of the day. First, they would visit House Bonaparte and strategize with him for the council meeting. After that, they would attend the council meeting.

A Strategic Meeting about Strategy

  After breakfast, the group traveled through the capital district to House Bonaparte. Sirkel was distracted by the free cake on offering from the street vendors and wandered around the city for awhile. He eventually returned with pockets bulging full of cake and a look of happiness on his face. Having an infinite supply of cake was one of the things the delve had only ever dreamed about.

The adventurers arrived at House Bonaparte. Its immense columnar building soared above their heads and statues of past Ivannian heroes stood tall. Jean Bonaparte greeted the group and ushered them in past groups of soldiers preparing equipment. The armored councilman revealed that he intended to bring a motion to the council to launch a retaliatory strike force against the Yellow Serpents. He had the support of several other houses, but wished for Morganna to influence her uncle to vote yes at the council. Morganna quickly agreed; she had seen the devastation the Yellow Serpent's assassin had caused and she strongly desired to crush this threat to her city.

Tidran also spoke with Bonaparte about some strategies against the Yellow Serpents. Bonaparte however cautioned Tidran that they first needed to get the vote to pass the council before planning too many details of any raids. After some back and forth and with a promise of a later meeting should the vote pass, the adventurers departed back to House Estelle to wait for the council meeting.

A Fateful Council

  The council session began shortly after lunch. There was a bit of routine business and then King Jacques Thibodeau opened the floor to the councilors. Francois Estelle took the floor first and informed the council of his upcoming retirement. The other council members and attendees congratulated him on his forthcoming retirement. Estelle assured the council that he would recommend a replacement before formally retiring.

Next up, House Bonaparte offered a motion to launch a retaliatory military expedition with the aim of destroying the fleet of the Yellow Serpents and so prevent them from having access across the sea. Thanks to Morganna, House Estelle seconded the vote, and the resolution passed unanimously. The king urged Bonaparte to deploy his forces as quickly as possible. The Yellow Serpent attack had shaken the placid life in Ivannia, and all the council wished for quick retribution. Tidran and Cassandra were quite happy to hear this; they too desired to destroy the Yellow Serpents.

A Fateful Decision

 

After the council meeting, Morganna called her friends and family into her office. She had made her decision. She quietly informed them she had decided to accept her uncle's offer to sit on the ruling council of Ivannia. Furthermore, while she wished her friends well, she would sit out of the military campaign against the Yellow Serpents. Morganna's friends cheered her decision. They would miss her on the upcoming excursion, but they were genuinely happy for their friend. She had finally come full circle from the scared girl who had ran away and she now looked forward to using her experience to help shape Ivannia for the better.

Dariyana also begged off the military excursion. She was very excited to route the evil from the lands, but she suddenly realized that she had not really slept for several days whilst chasing down intel about the Yellow Serpents. The glaive trooped off to conquer her pillow, but she wished her friends victory. Sirkel was at first hesitant to join a military campaign: he was excellent at navigating caves, but open combat was not his forte. However, upon hearing that he might assist the quartermaster, and oversee the food rations, he happily agreed to accompany his friends.

Strike Force

  Tidran went from the meeting to House Bonaparte and discussed some of the details of their attack. The Ivannians had two armored airships prepped and ready to go. The plan would be to load Tidran and his companions into one, with Ivannian soldiers in the other. The airships would launch that afternoon, and seek and destroy Yellow Serpent ships. Tidran largely agreed with the plan, and he offered several pertinent observations and suggestions. Bonaparte was happy to have an advisor who had some experience outside Ivannia, and he implemented the Arkai's advice.

Soon after, Cassandra joined her brother on board the airship and Sirkel came aboard and ventured to the quartermaster's office. He would see to it that the rations were handled appropriately. The two massive airships finished loading and soon departed. Their engines hummed quietly as they glided over the desert below. As night fall approached, the airships crossed over the sea and continued on. Had anyone looked up that night, they would have seen two silent death bringers advancing steadily north-ward. 

[The following events are still classified by the Ivannian military. However, we have located a pair of first-hand journals which describe the events that transpired]

From Tidran’s perspective

The day began as so many others recently. While the technology and culture of Ivannia was grand to behold, over time the luster became tarnished. Tidran had been researching the Yellow Serpents in every spare moment. He went to book sellers and scholars throughout all Ivannia looking for information on trade and political intrigue dating back to before his parent’s murder. He combined his research with the knowledge passed down by Jayven. While the tome of information was becoming obvious, he would not allow anyone to touch the book and typically kept it hidden within his room. The recent refurbishment of the rooms caused him some panic as he hastily grabbed his bag before the workers were allowed to enter his room.

Having persistently (some would call fanatically) been communicating with House Bonaparte regarding the next step regarding the recent Yellow Serpent incursion into Ivannia, he was interested to receive the communique requesting the party to meet with Bonaparte. While Tidran’s initial fears were of the Yellow Serpents creating a black market of technology to smuggle out of Ivannia, the current crisis had proved them somewhat small in comparison to the real plans.

The meeting with Bonaparte and the subsequent council meeting were short and to the point with a result that caused Tidran to see an end to the lifelong wait for revenge on the Yellow Serpents. Boarding the air ships would have caused him amazement at any other time, but with the possibility for battle coming so soon Tidran hardly noticed the amazing view or Mo’s absence from the ship.

Spotting the Yellow Serpent ships could not come soon enough. The approach seemed to be going very well until a horrendous acidic sea creature attempted to board the vessel and attack the occupants. What would have been an adventurous fight in other circumstances became a minor skirmish to remove an impediment to the real goal. Snorting out the stench of the corpse and it’s acidic residue, Tidran readied himself for the next engagement, allowing the moment to fill his mind and remove all distractions.

The Battle

The Ivannian air ships easily chased down and grappled the slower sailing vessels. Tidran and Cassandra stood at the base of the ramp, willing the moment to quicken so they could finally battle their enemies. As the ramp lowered to the deck of the other ship, Tidran and Cassandra looked to each other and with a mysterious finality spoke “For our parents!!” Tidran whispered to himself “and for Jayven.” Tidran’s face bore a cold but vicious hatred lit by the strange glow of his shield while Cassandra’s jeweled forehead and hands shone as bright as the sun as they approached the four Yellow Serpent crewmen who had moved to stop their advance.

The Yellow Serpents attacked with sabers, Cassandra sent piercing bolts of light, while Tidran smashed with his ethereal shield. For a few blows it appeared the lopsided arrangement would fall toward the Yellow Serpents. While the brother and sister were able to damage their opponents, none of them were falling. Cassandra stumbled as a particularly large swell struck the boat and her blinding light went wide of its target. Tidran’s attempt to parry an attack instead caused the blade to bite deep into his left hip which caused him to unsteadily fall to one knee. Just as the Yellow Serpents tried to press their advantage, Tidran raised his shield and it pulsed an unearthly greenish hue. The weariness of brother and sister seemed to reduce in an instant and Tidran’s hip no longer bled so profusely. Smiling at his enemies, Tidran suddenly stood up and, yelling his defiance, smashed the offending brigand in the face with his shield, causing him to stumble back. The attack slowed the man just long enough to be slain by the burning light sent from Cassandra. In quick succession the duo slew two more enemies. The smile on the last Yellow Serpent’s face was now replaced by a look of terror as he witnessed his associates being slain by these unassuming pair while the rest of the crew was thrown through the air like rag dolls by the remaining Ivannian contingent. Turning, the final brigand tried to jump over the side of the ship. Seeing his intent, Tidran frantically yelled to Cassandra “STOP HIM!!” With a perfectly timed sparkle of sunburst, Cassandra temporarily blinded the man who was then levelled with a massive shield swipe by Tidran. As he grabbed rope, Tidran motioned to Cassandra to place the volcanic heart below decks.

After tying up the last bandit, Tidran paused long enough to survey the carnage. The Ivannian soldiers had used their gravity abilities to throw and crush their enemies with a mere hand wave. The end result was a pile of corpses and blood all over the decks. Looking to the two Ivannian soldiers near him, Tidran requested the corpses from this ship be transported to the other vessel in preparation for a final demonstration. After pulling the surviving bandit onto the airship, the Yellow Serpent vessel was released and allowed to drift away for a minute before the deck began to glow red before the entire ship burst into flame. The heat was so intense it began to evaporate the water around the ship, causing a minute long spectacle of the entire ship burning within a meters deep maelstrom of constantly evaporating water. By the end, all that remained was a slick of ash slowly spreading across the surface of the sea. The sudden destruction of his vessel caused the Yellow Serpent bandit to stare in muted shock.

Using the wrist communicator Tidran requested Bonaparte to come to the second airship. Despite his limbs trembling uncontrollably and his heart pounding from the battles efforts, Tidran held his prisoner with an iron grip and pushed him toward the leader of House Bonaparte. Bonaparte’s face held a dismissive sneer and his armor was covered with the gore of Yellow Serpents unable to even touch him with their attacks. Suddenly, from Cassandra came a blinding sphere of light which settled over the bandits head, who screamed out “My eyes, my eyes!! They are burning!!...No… please no…what is all this darkness…what have you done!!”.

The bandit cowered at Bonaparte’s feet as Tidran spoke, his voice rising in volume and passion despite his exhaustion, “Your people have attacked Ivannia…unprovoked and from the shadows. You thought that, like so many others, you could cow the Ivannians into submission through sabotage, murder, and intrigue. Tell your leaders they are mistaken; tell them of the soldiers of Ivannia who have slaughtered your comrades with a wave of their hands; tell them of the ship reduced to ashes in seconds!! Tell them of the retribution that has been exacted on you today and tell them that this is only the beginning. The Yellow Serpents will be hunted until all wretches like you refuse to even look toward the shores of Ivannia for fear of bringing further destruction.” At this statement the soldiers of Ivannia let loose a bloodthirsty roar causing the bandit to cry with terror. Tidran continued, “You are spared to return this message, tell any Yellow Serpent that asks… this mercy will not happen again.”

With those words spoken, Tidran dragged the blinded brigand to the remaining Yellow Serpents ship. The deck was piled with the bodies of the other bandits, no other prisoners were taken. Tidran tied the man to the mast of the ship and, just before leaving, held the bandits ear close to his mouth. Even though the bandit could no longer see Tidran’s face, he could hear the emotion in his voice. Tidran whispered hoarsely “Your people have murdered and preyed on innocents for long enough. My parents are dead because of your machinations. A man named Jayven died in my arms because of your actions. Tell your leaders, today was vengeance for Ivannia, what comes soon is vengeance for my parents and all the lives that Yellow Serpents’ sins have destroyed. I am the fire resulting from your actions almost 20 years ago and there is no place you can hide from the inferno I will bring!”

Staggering to his feet, Tidran walked back aboard the airship. Just as he stepped down to the deck his legs gave way, causing him to stumble almost to his knees. Cassandra, seeing his fatigue, was ready to catch Tidran and keep him from falling. With Cassandra supporting his left side, Tidran stood before Bonaparte. Unable to hide the tears falling down his face or the shaking of his limbs, the young man asked for the documents pulled from the Yellow Serpent vessel. Motioning to a soldier to retrieve the papers, Bonaparte looked at Tidran and Cassandra with a question; “This is no ordinary quest to you, I gathered that fact from your communication Tidran. But I must ask, what is your claim to such vengeance on these bandits? I hate these bandits as filth, but your claim rests much more deeply. Please tell me how you have been wronged?”

Tidran’s voice shook as he admitted before Bonaparte, “Almost 20 years ago our parents were murdered by Yellow Serpent agents. The only way we were saved was by teleportation to the wilderness. We have spent most of our lives trying to survive while in constant fear of bandits and their like. A man named Jayven tried to fight the Yellow Serpent... and that fight emptied him to a shell of his former self, ending his life before…before I could know him as I wished. I have spent much of my life watching the weak exploited by the strong and hoping we were not next. I am tired of seeing the results of evil in my own life and in others, today was a start to return the actions of the evil upon their own head.”

Bonaparte questioned further: “What of the light shining from your sister’s face and hands, or the shield you carry? Those could not have been the work of the Yellow Serpents?” Looking to the deck, Tidran replied “The scars are the result of my incompetence and arrogance, the shield was a chance blessing from a caravan with which we travelled for a time.” Satisfied with the answers given, Bonaparte gave them the documents and hurried off to communicate with Ivannia regarding continued attacks.

 

Cassandra

Journal Entry - Yellow Serpent Attack

I’ve just now had time to write down an account of my and Tidran’s encounter with the Yellow Serpents. It’s been a busy airship journey. But I never want to forget. So here it is.

First of all, it was a hard thing to choose between staying in Ivannia with Lady Morganna or going with Tidran on the airships and House Bonaparte. Choosing to accompany Tidran was the best decision I could have made. Sirkel also came along. We convinced him that he would be a fantastic quartermaster. In any case, no one stole rations while he was in charge.

What happened next was bizarre. We had just caught sight of the Yellow Serpent ships on the horizon. As we lowered from the clouds to near the surface of the salty Sare Marica, a vicious snow-white monster with multiple tentacles made its way aboard our airship.

Tidran and I were discussing military strategy with the House Bonaparte general when we realized we were under attack. I am by no means the warrior of the group. Dariyana, Dante, and Farren far outshine me. But my brother’s safety was at stake. So together we charged the beast. I accidentally hit everyone around me with the blast of a shrapnel explosion. Tidran had to hack one of the monster’s severed (but still twitching) tentacles off my legs a minute later. But in a few minutes, the monster was no more than disgusting goop on the floor.

I felt exhilarated! It felt like I was becoming a warrior at last! But the next test was to come. The Ivannian airships faced down the Yellow Serpent vessels. In a brilliant move, the airship crew launched heavy grappling hooks into the sides of the enemy’s ship hulls and then drew them close for boarding. We quickly descended on the enemy crewmen with fervor.

Once on deck, Tidran and I immediately encountered four pirates! At that moment, our path seemed crystal clear. Everything we had learned… had come to this. Here we were, brother and sister, taking revenge on the brutes who killed our parents. I looked at Tidran.
 “For our parents?”
“For our parents,” he replied.
And then the fight was on! Tidran tried to bash the men with his shield and I blasted light from my hands and forehead crystal. The pirates mocked us at first. My light went askew and Tidran missed. The one thing I was good at was dodging. I nearly went overboard when the ship heaved to the side after being hit with a strong wave.

But then things clicked with Tidran and I. We started working in tandem. And soon there was only one pirate left. By this point, the Ivannians had clearly won. But their soldiers surrounded us like a ring, cheering us on to finish the fight.

I blinded the last enemy… Tidran whacked him with his shield. We left the enemy pirate as the lone survivor… a message to the Yellow Serpents that they should never threaten Ivannia or Tidra and Cassandra Fletcher. In the end, we win. We will always win.

This is how it was meant to be...
Brother and sister… fighting their battles together.
To the victory!